“Amazing Sports Stories” (8 p.m., Fox Sports Network): Bert Shepard was a minor-league

“Amazing Sports Stories” (8 p.m., Fox Sports Network): Bert Shepard was a minor-league pitcher who answered the call in World War II. He became a fighter pilot who was shot down in enemy territory. His right leg was amputated below the knee. It was a long way from the German POW camp to the pitcher’s mound of the Washington Senators for five innings in August 1945, but Shepard wouldn’t quit. His triumph begins the 13-episode “Amazing Sports Stories,” which gathers against-all-odds tales of individual or team spirit in football, hockey, boxing, golf and more.

“Night of Too Many Stars” (8 p.m., Comedy Central): Jon Stewart hosts an evening to draw attention to autism.

“Cold Case” (9 p.m., CBS): Talk about a real cold case: After 10 years, a man’s hand is found in a freezer.

“Human Fooptprint” (9 p.m., National Geographic Channel): It all adds up. Just one average American’s lifetime consumption of beer, disposable diapers, loaves of bread, or even energy required to power a hair dryer (three-quarters of a ton of coal just for this task) really makes a difference. That’s the message of National Geographic Channel’s “Human Footprint,” a graphic recap of how each of us uses the Earth’s resources. This two-hour special is more than startling stats. Even a number such as 28,433 (the total showers logged in a lifetime by the average American) doesn’t quite register intellectually. So the producers of “Human Footprint” recruited volunteers to lay out 28,433 rubber ducks (each representing one of those showers) spreading from the second-floor bathroom of an ordinary house, down its stairs, out the front door, across the yard, and through the neighborhood all the way to a nearby pond. Ever seen 19,826 eggs (an average lifetime diet) cascading onto a warehouse floor? You will on this show. Maybe most amazing of all: an artful arrangement of 43,371 crumpled, discarded soda cans. No special effects are used in the program to illustrate Americans’ consumption of resources, which — bottom line — exceeds the planet’s ability to replace them. ABC News’ Elizabeth Vargas is host of the film. It’s not a pretty picture. But it’s amazing. And cautionary.

“Desperate Housewives” (9 p.m., ABC): One of television’s favorite guilty pleasures finally returns from writers-strike purgatory and we’ve got a lot of catching up to do. When we last left Wisteria Lane, Lynette and her family had emerged happily unscathed from the wreckage of a brutal tornado, and Gabrielle learned that the late mayor left her absolutely nothing in his will. Meanwhile, with Mike in rehab, a pregnant Susan invited Bree and Orson to move in while their home underwent repairs. As the season resumes, Kathryn is having trouble keeping some of her dark secrets from the other women, and a surprise wedding ceremony yields a few secrets, as well. It’s the first of six new episodes.

“A Room With a View” (9 p.m., PBS): In 1985 it was turned into a hit film starring a young Daniel Day-Lewis. Now “A Room With a View,” E.M. Forster’s sweet, funny romantic novel, has been newly adapted by Andrew Davies (four of the films in PBS’ “The Complete Jane Austen”) for “Masterpiece Classic.” This charming 90-minute “Room” stars Elaine Cassidy as Lucy, the passionate but callow young English tourist taking the Grand Tour of Europe with her prim chaperone (Charlotte Bartlett). Laurence Fox is her snobby fianc . Father-and-son actors Timothy and Rafe Spall play Mr. Emerson and his son, George, who fatefully meet Lucy. This “View” is delightful.